Claudia's Pickle Dish

I've got so many photos from last month's meeting and not enough time to get them all posted this morning. But here's another beautiful quilt from another talented member of my quilt group.

Claudia also has a long arm quilting business, so she's busy...but not too busy to put together this stunning quilt. I think she said she worked from a kit for this one. And check out the great backing fabric too!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

November Quilt Group

This beauty is by Terry. Just love the flannel coziness!


The back features a pumpkin guy...

And here's the whole front. Half-square triangles in rich fall colors.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

For the Beauty of the Earth...

Have a Wonderful Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Table sari, plates, candleholders are all thrifted (Value Village), leaves from the front yard...)

Have a Wonderful Day!

Jelly Batik

Here's a look at what I've been working on.

I started with the "jelly roll" strips in blues, browns, and creams, then added the bright green, rust, and turquoise that I bought as fat quarters. No pattern, just added them as I felt like it. They make me think of leaves floating in a river. Or something like that. I planned from the beginning to do the green strip, but only decided to add the brown border (and the green going into it) once the inside was sewn. Because the result is to have the green bar look like it's floating, I wish the long bars and short bars had continued all the way across- matching so as to reinforce the floating idea. Maybe next time....

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Blogger Problems.....

I've been trying for two days now to post some new photos from our quilt group....but Blogger won't let me! I keep getting a reject/ error message.... Anybody have any ideas? (The only thing I came across in HELP was to switch to Word Press!!!)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Give Thanks Sauce

Cranberry Sauce is just the right addition to the traditional Thanksgiving table, and this sauce, with honey, oranges, and spices is extra yummy!

I made the red work bread basket liner years ago, and love pulling it out each year.

Spiced Cranberry Sauce serves 8

3/4 Cup white sugar

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/4 Cup honey

2 oranges, peeled and chopped (and all the juice)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ginger

dash of cloves

12 ounces fresh cranberries, sorted and washed

2 tsp. orange zest, optional

Boil all the ingredients over medium heat, except zest. Reduce heat and simmer 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add orange zest if desired. Cool and refrigerate.

(I make a batch of plain cranberry sauce too. So I garnish the spiced one with orange peel and whole allspice.)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Just Because

Have a Wonderful Day!

The Art of Engineering

We went to the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of Discovery.

The launch was postponed. And then delayed. And then rescheduled. It's now supposed to happen on November 30th. Florida is a long way from Washington...so we don't get to see it.  

But we did get to tour the Space Center.

There are so many things I'd like to understand better. Like how do people figure out how to get rockets and astronauts out into space and back again? I think it's amazing. I love that there are people who can figure out stuff like that. I love that we have different skills and talents, brains that can think about big ideas and solve big problems and puzzles. And that teams of really smart people figure how to work together. 

Curiosity. Creativity. Imagination. And then a whole lot of work. I love that combination!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Space Center 'Scaping

Have a Wonderful Day!

Tall Flower

I made this piece a while back using thrifted wool clothing, old buttons, and beads.

(The color is closer to the top photo- it's a gray day, and getting the color right is elusive!)

The frame was also thrifted. It's heavy, rough barnwood. The piece measures 11x14 including the frame.


Make it a Wonderful Day!

Leafy Prints

You might have noticed on my last Sunday photo that the leaves were especially colorful...

Their natural beauty had been "enhanced" with watercolors. We made prints using the wonderful leaves that Janis, my assistant, had collected. She's a talented water colorist who took the lead on this project.
Once the leaves were collected, Janis pressed them in a phone book. To use for printing, the leaves still need to be soft and flexible. So the pressing is only for a few hours or overnight.
First, each student chose a few leaves, and then put a small amount of 3 colors (tube watercolor) on their palette.

They arranged their leaves on the watercolor paper, paying attention to the composition. Positive and negative space was discussed- the artists were to look at both as they decided where each leaf would be placed.

Next,the artists first brushed the leaf with soapy water, make sure the surface of the leaf would accept the watercolors.
After painting the back side of a leaf with one or more colors, they pressed it down on their paper, using a folded paper towel on top of it-to make sure they didn't tear the leaf.

They loved the surprise of seeing the texture as it appeared in their print.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Turned Leaves

Have a Wonderful Day!